You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, August, 25). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Trifles. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
Trifles takes place in 1916, presumably during the winter as alluded to by the overcoats, shawls, and other colder weather attire worn by the characters, the constant complaints about the bitter cold outside and in more isolated parts of the home, and the wood fire made by Frank in the kitchen as requested by Sheriff Peters. It is the day after the discovery of John Wright's death, a discovery made by local farmer and neighbor to the Wright's, Mr. Hale. The stasis occurs in the kitchen of the Wright's farmhouse which has just recently been abandoned after Mr. Wright's murder and the imprisonment of Mrs. Wright. In the kitchen stand Mr. Hale, Mrs. Hale, the County Attorney, Sheriff Peters, and Mrs. Peters. It is commonly believed that Minnie Wright killed her husband John and the three men have ventured to the house in an attempt to find evidence and a potential motive to further prosecute Minnie. The dramatic situation at hand is that John Wright has been murdered, presumably by his wife Minne, and town officials are currently searching for evidence of a motive to prosecute Minnie. The dramatic situation raises the dramatic questions: Did Minnie kill her husband John? If so, what was her motive? And more importantly, will the characters be able to find the motive?
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in Trifles is the discovery of the dead canary wrapped in silk hidden in the fancy box with all of Mrs. Wright's sewing equipment. The discovery of the canary's mutilated body initiates a form of reflection and discovery within the two women, who quickly realize Mrs. Wright's motive for murdering her husband. The discovery of the canary acts as the intrusion, because prior to, all of the character's remained in a state of stasis, undisturbed by any rare findings or life-altering evidence. However, upon the discovery of the bird, the actions of the play begin to unravel as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters begin to realize what drove Mrs. Wright to strangle her own husband. After the intrusion, the women begin to recognize the isolation felt by many women in society in the early half of the 20th century while reflecting on the condescending and brash actions of husbands to their wives during this time, not only in the Wright household but in the two women's homes as well.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor about Trifles is that the play takes place in 1916, during the early part of the 20th century in a rural area of the country as alluded to by the Hales and Wrights, both farming families. The play takes place the day after John Wright was found to be dead in his own home and after his wife, Minnie Wright, was arrested on charges of murder. The unique factor is essential in understanding why the actions of the play happen as they do because in the early part of the 20th century, particularly in rural areas of the country, women were treated as inferior beings to men. In 1916, women still lacked the right to vote. Women were expected to be homemakers, and stellar ones at that, as addressed by the shock at the disarray and unkempt state of the Wright's kitchen. In addition, the County Attorney makes the comment, "But you know juries when it comes to women." The unique factor of the play adds to the fact that Mrs. Wright is being treated drastically different than her male counterparts simply because of her sex. Due to the time and location of the play's actions, Mrs. Wright is treated far differently from men in similar situations as women had very few if any rights in rural America during the early part of the 20th century. In addition, the fact that Mrs. Wright is being charged with the murder of her own husband, a man who during the time period was popularly believed to have control over his submissive wife, plays a critical role in how the men and townspeople not only view the case, but view Mrs. Wright as well.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The dramatic question that must be answered by the end of Trifles is: What was Minnie Wright's motive in killing her husband John? By the end of the play, the question finds its answer in the mutilated body of the canary whose neck has been broken, presumably by John. In finding the dead bird's body, the two women realize that John, in a fit of anger undoubtedly caused by his wife's behavior, snapped the neck of Minnie's only companion, her canary, who she so often related to, in front of Minnie. In turn, Minnie unsuccessfully tried to mitigate her rage through her sewing, which in turn caused jagged and sloppy craftsmanship, but instead, took out her anger by strangling her own husband to death in his sleep.
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles, the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale.
Mrs. Hale, the principal character in Trifles, undergoes a dramatic transformation as the play progresses. The inner conflict of Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Hale vs. Mrs. Hale, centers around her guilt for not visiting Mrs. Wright at her home as often as she should have. Mrs. Hale's guilt is made clear throughout the play as she voices her regret to Mrs. Peters. Her reasoning for not visiting the house was due to her belief that the house "was not a very cheerful place" as she repeats numerous times throughout her interactions with the men and Mrs. Peters. However, the guilt felt by Mrs. Hale is made apparent as the play progresses and the harsh attitudes and actions that John Wright inflicted upon his wife are made clear. Mrs. Hale battles the guilt within herself with proclamations such as, "I could've come. I stayed away because it weren't cheerful--and that's why I ought to have come." These audible signs of guilt and disappointment in her actions make Mrs. Hale's inner conflict that much more clear.
The conflict experienced between Mrs. Hale and society is one that is easily illustrated as her responsibility to her husband and town vs. her responsibility as a woman to Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Hale discovers Mrs. Wright's motive for killing her husband yet ultimately, at the end of the play, decides to withhold the information from the three men as her duty as a woman to her fellow oppressed woman overpowers her duty to the men. American society in 1916 pressured women to remain submissive to men, which would have meant Mrs. Hale turn over the motive to the men. However, by hiding the box containing the dead canary in her overcoat, Mrs. Hale aligns her self as "loyal to [her] sex," as described by the County Attorney, rather than her society nearly redefining justice.
As clear as the conflicts are between Mrs. Hale vs. herself and Mrs. Hale vs. society, the conflict between Mrs. Hale and one particular individual is a little less clear. There is definitely a sort of tension between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters however throughout various points in the play. Mrs. Hale treats the situation at hand and the discovery of the motive as a potential way for the two women to protect Mrs. Wright from being imprisoned for the murder of her husband. However, Mrs. Peters continuously tries to discourage Mrs. Hale from tampering with the evidence in the home saying things such things as "I don't think we ought to touch things," as Mrs. Hale fixes the sloppily sewn pieces on the quilt. Mrs. Peters, ultimately decides to withhold the information regarding Mrs. Wright's motive for the murder in the end and the conflict is alleviated between the two women due to Mrs. Hale's persuasive nature and more importantly, Mrs. Peter's comparison of the death of Mrs. Wright's bird to the death of her own cat as a child.
The final conflict dealing with Mrs. Hale is Mrs. Hale vs. fate. In the play, this conflict is a little unclear. It can be interpreted that the conflict that Mrs. Hale faces with fate, is a battle with her sex. Mrs. Hale is a woman in a time and place where women are not valued and are not treated as equals to men/members of the opposite sex. Throughout the play, Mrs. Hale is forced to accept her femininity and her sex despite the fact that she is constantly belittled, forced into submission, mocked, and ignored by the men of the play, including her own husband due to her sex. By the play's conclusion however, Mrs. Hale seems to have accepted her fate as a woman. In fact, not only does she learn to embrace her own sex and femininity, she begins to embrace the community of womanhood as she protects the motive and innocence of her neighbor and accused murder, Mrs. Wright.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles.
The most theatrical moment in Trifles is the discovery of the dead bird in the box among Minne Wright's sewing equipment. This moment is not only the intrusion, but it also serves as the play's most theatrical moment as the motive behind the murder of John Wright is finally revealed. The moment's theatricality is illustrated by the beauty of the small box as compared to the rest of the props and objects in the house. The box is described as being "pretty" and "fancy." The stark contrast to the rest of the room and its elements adds to the scenes theatrical moment. In addition, the shock of the two women and the physical act of being taken aback adds a more physical reaction to the moment. Even more, the quick change in tone of the scene when the men abruptly enter the scene only a few lines after the bird's discovery adds even more to the scene's theatricality. The women, who have just discovered this case altering motive must suddenly change their reactions from shocked and bewildered, to calm and collected at the drop of a hat. With the combination of the intricacy of the prop and box in which the bird is found, the physical reaction of the women, and the almost instantaneous shift in tone of the scene, the discovery of the dead canary is easily the most theatrical moment of the play.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Various images in Trifles include the stitching of the quilt that Mrs. Wright was allegedly most recently working on. Mrs. Hale noticed upon examination that the stitching of Mrs. Wright's quilt looked rushed and sloppy as compared to her previously "nice and even" stitching. This is an important image because when it is first introduced, it raises the question of why the stitching so dramatically differed from the stitching prior. Later on in the play, we can infer that the stitching seemed sporadic as it was an attempted source of distraction, stress-relief, and anger-management for Mrs. Wright after witnessing her husband strangle her beloved canary. The quilt is extremely important as it is discovered by the two women and simply ignored by the men as a "trifle" that only women would worry about, when in fact, the quilt and sloppy stitching ultimately led to the discovery of the dead canary wrapped in silk and helped the women hide Mrs. Wright's guilt from the men in an attempt to let her go free of conviction. The "trifles" the men simply mocked the women for caring about, in the end, held the answer to the play's dramatic question: What was Minnie Wright's motive for strangling her husband?
Other images in the play included the rocking chair. Upon entering the house the assumed day after the murder, Mr. Hale found Mrs. Wright sitting in the rocking chair in the kitchen. Mrs. Hale attempts to take a seat in the chair before she falls back, realizing that the chair she is about to sit in, is the same rocking chair that Mrs. Wright, an alleged murderer, was sitting in, just the other day, shortly after her husband's death. The rocking chair is an image that can be associated with the potential murder, Mrs. Wright, hence Mrs. Hale's apprehension to sit in the chair.
The third image in Trifles is the canary. The canary owned by Mrs. Wright is sort of a metaphor for Mrs. Wright herself. Mrs. Hale draws the comparison between the bird and Mrs. Wright when she says, "She--come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself--real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and fluttery." The comparison between the once happy and joyful Minnie Foster and the canary can be drawn even further seeing as Minnie Foster was a singer in the choir as well, similar to canaries. Mrs. Wright's marriage to John Wright can be seen as the caged canary, no longer able to fly free and happy as it once was. Upon witnessing the strangling of her bird, Mrs. Wright sensed the final blow between her husband's assumed dominance over her which ultimately led her to commit the murder. Yet another small "trifle" that was unnoticed by the men, and yet made blatantly clear to the women.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles.
Trifles contain numerous themes. Such themes include women and femininity as displayed by Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Wright and their interactions with each other, themselves, the men, and their society. Justice is a major theme of Trifles as well. The women of the play nearly completely redefine justice considering that Mrs. Wright, a woman who killed her husband, should be imprisoned for murder but is ultimately protected by the women who view Mrs. Wright's actions as completely justified due to the nature of Mr. and Mrs. Wright's relationship and Mr. Wright's often cruel and hurtful behavior, specifically the murdering of the canary. The theme of isolation is also explored as the women, specifically Mrs. Peters, are able to relate to Mrs. Wright's state of crippling isolation and this common state of loneliness brings the women, ironically, closer together. Freedom is also a major theme associated with Trifles. The theme of freedom is specifically alluded to through the discovery of the bird cage and the dead bird. Mrs. Wright, who was compared to the bird by Mrs. Hale, seemed to be confined and restricted of her freedoms in her marriage to John Wright just as her beloved canary was confined and restricted in its bird cage. Both the bird and Mrs. Wright suffered from a lack of freedom.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles?
Trifles deals with the concept of family and family relationships as it deals with the relationship between a husband and wife. Trifles ultimately reveals the commonly held idea of how a wife was expected to behave in America in 1916. Mrs. Wright was expected to be a homemaker, completing such tasks as quilting, cleaning, cooking, etc. Trifles also brings up an interesting perspective on a woman's duty to bear children. The women were sympathetic toward Mrs. Wright because she had no children. It was assumed that because Mr. Wright was often out of the house working, Mrs. Wright was lonely without children of her own to take care of and keep company. Families in rural America during the early 20th century were traditionally defined as a man, his submissive wife, and their children. However, Mrs. Wright's unconventional decision to remain childless was viewed as just another "queer" quality about her. In addition, family in this part of the country in 1916 was often associated with an individual's place in their community. Small towns and communities in rural America often considered all of the citizens to be a redefined "family." Mrs. Wright's choice to abstain from joining the Ladies Aid and her disinterest in participating in a party telephone are more examples of her refusal to submit to the traditionally defined "family" of her time. Lastly, a woman in 1916 was expected to aspire to marriage and take her husband's surname. Mrs. Hale however frequently refers to Mrs. Wright, not as Minne Wright, but as Minnie Foster. By acknowledging Mrs. Wright's maiden name and consciously not referring to her as Minne Wright, is yet another example of how different Mrs. Wright acted pre and post marriage, redefining the role of a woman in the traditional 20th-century family.
You may earn a maximum of 3 points toward your final grade by doing the above and answering the questions and submitting them on time (no later than Friday, August, 25). Any worksheets submitted after the deadline will get a 0.
You will be rewarded a maximum of 3 points if I judge your work to be above average. You will receive 2 points if your work is average, that is it may have a few minor mistakes in some of the answers but demonstrates correct grammar and indicates that some, but not all, of the answers, are acceptable and well expressed. You will earn only 1 point if you simply answered the questions and/or if you use poor grammar and if there are signs that you have not read the material on which your answers are based.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Trifles. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
Trifles takes place in 1916, presumably during the winter as alluded to by the overcoats, shawls, and other colder weather attire worn by the characters, the constant complaints about the bitter cold outside and in more isolated parts of the home, and the wood fire made by Frank in the kitchen as requested by Sheriff Peters. It is the day after the discovery of John Wright's death, a discovery made by local farmer and neighbor to the Wright's, Mr. Hale. The stasis occurs in the kitchen of the Wright's farmhouse which has just recently been abandoned after Mr. Wright's murder and the imprisonment of Mrs. Wright. In the kitchen stand Mr. Hale, Mrs. Hale, the County Attorney, Sheriff Peters, and Mrs. Peters. It is commonly believed that Minnie Wright killed her husband John and the three men have ventured to the house in an attempt to find evidence and a potential motive to further prosecute Minnie. The dramatic situation at hand is that John Wright has been murdered, presumably by his wife Minne, and town officials are currently searching for evidence of a motive to prosecute Minnie. The dramatic situation raises the dramatic questions: Did Minnie kill her husband John? If so, what was her motive? And more importantly, will the characters be able to find the motive?
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in Trifles is the discovery of the dead canary wrapped in silk hidden in the fancy box with all of Mrs. Wright's sewing equipment. The discovery of the canary's mutilated body initiates a form of reflection and discovery within the two women, who quickly realize Mrs. Wright's motive for murdering her husband. The discovery of the canary acts as the intrusion, because prior to, all of the character's remained in a state of stasis, undisturbed by any rare findings or life-altering evidence. However, upon the discovery of the bird, the actions of the play begin to unravel as Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters begin to realize what drove Mrs. Wright to strangle her own husband. After the intrusion, the women begin to recognize the isolation felt by many women in society in the early half of the 20th century while reflecting on the condescending and brash actions of husbands to their wives during this time, not only in the Wright household but in the two women's homes as well.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor about Trifles is that the play takes place in 1916, during the early part of the 20th century in a rural area of the country as alluded to by the Hales and Wrights, both farming families. The play takes place the day after John Wright was found to be dead in his own home and after his wife, Minnie Wright, was arrested on charges of murder. The unique factor is essential in understanding why the actions of the play happen as they do because in the early part of the 20th century, particularly in rural areas of the country, women were treated as inferior beings to men. In 1916, women still lacked the right to vote. Women were expected to be homemakers, and stellar ones at that, as addressed by the shock at the disarray and unkempt state of the Wright's kitchen. In addition, the County Attorney makes the comment, "But you know juries when it comes to women." The unique factor of the play adds to the fact that Mrs. Wright is being treated drastically different than her male counterparts simply because of her sex. Due to the time and location of the play's actions, Mrs. Wright is treated far differently from men in similar situations as women had very few if any rights in rural America during the early part of the 20th century. In addition, the fact that Mrs. Wright is being charged with the murder of her own husband, a man who during the time period was popularly believed to have control over his submissive wife, plays a critical role in how the men and townspeople not only view the case, but view Mrs. Wright as well.
4. State the dramatic question or questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
The dramatic question that must be answered by the end of Trifles is: What was Minnie Wright's motive in killing her husband John? By the end of the play, the question finds its answer in the mutilated body of the canary whose neck has been broken, presumably by John. In finding the dead bird's body, the two women realize that John, in a fit of anger undoubtedly caused by his wife's behavior, snapped the neck of Minnie's only companion, her canary, who she so often related to, in front of Minnie. In turn, Minnie unsuccessfully tried to mitigate her rage through her sewing, which in turn caused jagged and sloppy craftsmanship, but instead, took out her anger by strangling her own husband to death in his sleep.
5. Use Ms. Hale to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is the dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Trifles, the wants of Ms. Hale change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles for Ms. Hale.
Mrs. Hale, the principal character in Trifles, undergoes a dramatic transformation as the play progresses. The inner conflict of Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Hale vs. Mrs. Hale, centers around her guilt for not visiting Mrs. Wright at her home as often as she should have. Mrs. Hale's guilt is made clear throughout the play as she voices her regret to Mrs. Peters. Her reasoning for not visiting the house was due to her belief that the house "was not a very cheerful place" as she repeats numerous times throughout her interactions with the men and Mrs. Peters. However, the guilt felt by Mrs. Hale is made apparent as the play progresses and the harsh attitudes and actions that John Wright inflicted upon his wife are made clear. Mrs. Hale battles the guilt within herself with proclamations such as, "I could've come. I stayed away because it weren't cheerful--and that's why I ought to have come." These audible signs of guilt and disappointment in her actions make Mrs. Hale's inner conflict that much more clear.
The conflict experienced between Mrs. Hale and society is one that is easily illustrated as her responsibility to her husband and town vs. her responsibility as a woman to Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Hale discovers Mrs. Wright's motive for killing her husband yet ultimately, at the end of the play, decides to withhold the information from the three men as her duty as a woman to her fellow oppressed woman overpowers her duty to the men. American society in 1916 pressured women to remain submissive to men, which would have meant Mrs. Hale turn over the motive to the men. However, by hiding the box containing the dead canary in her overcoat, Mrs. Hale aligns her self as "loyal to [her] sex," as described by the County Attorney, rather than her society nearly redefining justice.
As clear as the conflicts are between Mrs. Hale vs. herself and Mrs. Hale vs. society, the conflict between Mrs. Hale and one particular individual is a little less clear. There is definitely a sort of tension between Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters however throughout various points in the play. Mrs. Hale treats the situation at hand and the discovery of the motive as a potential way for the two women to protect Mrs. Wright from being imprisoned for the murder of her husband. However, Mrs. Peters continuously tries to discourage Mrs. Hale from tampering with the evidence in the home saying things such things as "I don't think we ought to touch things," as Mrs. Hale fixes the sloppily sewn pieces on the quilt. Mrs. Peters, ultimately decides to withhold the information regarding Mrs. Wright's motive for the murder in the end and the conflict is alleviated between the two women due to Mrs. Hale's persuasive nature and more importantly, Mrs. Peter's comparison of the death of Mrs. Wright's bird to the death of her own cat as a child.
The final conflict dealing with Mrs. Hale is Mrs. Hale vs. fate. In the play, this conflict is a little unclear. It can be interpreted that the conflict that Mrs. Hale faces with fate, is a battle with her sex. Mrs. Hale is a woman in a time and place where women are not valued and are not treated as equals to men/members of the opposite sex. Throughout the play, Mrs. Hale is forced to accept her femininity and her sex despite the fact that she is constantly belittled, forced into submission, mocked, and ignored by the men of the play, including her own husband due to her sex. By the play's conclusion however, Mrs. Hale seems to have accepted her fate as a woman. In fact, not only does she learn to embrace her own sex and femininity, she begins to embrace the community of womanhood as she protects the motive and innocence of her neighbor and accused murder, Mrs. Wright.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Trifles.
The most theatrical moment in Trifles is the discovery of the dead bird in the box among Minne Wright's sewing equipment. This moment is not only the intrusion, but it also serves as the play's most theatrical moment as the motive behind the murder of John Wright is finally revealed. The moment's theatricality is illustrated by the beauty of the small box as compared to the rest of the props and objects in the house. The box is described as being "pretty" and "fancy." The stark contrast to the rest of the room and its elements adds to the scenes theatrical moment. In addition, the shock of the two women and the physical act of being taken aback adds a more physical reaction to the moment. Even more, the quick change in tone of the scene when the men abruptly enter the scene only a few lines after the bird's discovery adds even more to the scene's theatricality. The women, who have just discovered this case altering motive must suddenly change their reactions from shocked and bewildered, to calm and collected at the drop of a hat. With the combination of the intricacy of the prop and box in which the bird is found, the physical reaction of the women, and the almost instantaneous shift in tone of the scene, the discovery of the dead canary is easily the most theatrical moment of the play.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Trifles. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Various images in Trifles include the stitching of the quilt that Mrs. Wright was allegedly most recently working on. Mrs. Hale noticed upon examination that the stitching of Mrs. Wright's quilt looked rushed and sloppy as compared to her previously "nice and even" stitching. This is an important image because when it is first introduced, it raises the question of why the stitching so dramatically differed from the stitching prior. Later on in the play, we can infer that the stitching seemed sporadic as it was an attempted source of distraction, stress-relief, and anger-management for Mrs. Wright after witnessing her husband strangle her beloved canary. The quilt is extremely important as it is discovered by the two women and simply ignored by the men as a "trifle" that only women would worry about, when in fact, the quilt and sloppy stitching ultimately led to the discovery of the dead canary wrapped in silk and helped the women hide Mrs. Wright's guilt from the men in an attempt to let her go free of conviction. The "trifles" the men simply mocked the women for caring about, in the end, held the answer to the play's dramatic question: What was Minnie Wright's motive for strangling her husband?
Other images in the play included the rocking chair. Upon entering the house the assumed day after the murder, Mr. Hale found Mrs. Wright sitting in the rocking chair in the kitchen. Mrs. Hale attempts to take a seat in the chair before she falls back, realizing that the chair she is about to sit in, is the same rocking chair that Mrs. Wright, an alleged murderer, was sitting in, just the other day, shortly after her husband's death. The rocking chair is an image that can be associated with the potential murder, Mrs. Wright, hence Mrs. Hale's apprehension to sit in the chair.
The third image in Trifles is the canary. The canary owned by Mrs. Wright is sort of a metaphor for Mrs. Wright herself. Mrs. Hale draws the comparison between the bird and Mrs. Wright when she says, "She--come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself--real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and fluttery." The comparison between the once happy and joyful Minnie Foster and the canary can be drawn even further seeing as Minnie Foster was a singer in the choir as well, similar to canaries. Mrs. Wright's marriage to John Wright can be seen as the caged canary, no longer able to fly free and happy as it once was. Upon witnessing the strangling of her bird, Mrs. Wright sensed the final blow between her husband's assumed dominance over her which ultimately led her to commit the murder. Yet another small "trifle" that was unnoticed by the men, and yet made blatantly clear to the women.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Trifles.
Trifles contain numerous themes. Such themes include women and femininity as displayed by Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Wright and their interactions with each other, themselves, the men, and their society. Justice is a major theme of Trifles as well. The women of the play nearly completely redefine justice considering that Mrs. Wright, a woman who killed her husband, should be imprisoned for murder but is ultimately protected by the women who view Mrs. Wright's actions as completely justified due to the nature of Mr. and Mrs. Wright's relationship and Mr. Wright's often cruel and hurtful behavior, specifically the murdering of the canary. The theme of isolation is also explored as the women, specifically Mrs. Peters, are able to relate to Mrs. Wright's state of crippling isolation and this common state of loneliness brings the women, ironically, closer together. Freedom is also a major theme associated with Trifles. The theme of freedom is specifically alluded to through the discovery of the bird cage and the dead bird. Mrs. Wright, who was compared to the bird by Mrs. Hale, seemed to be confined and restricted of her freedoms in her marriage to John Wright just as her beloved canary was confined and restricted in its bird cage. Both the bird and Mrs. Wright suffered from a lack of freedom.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with Trifles? Is family redefined in Trifles?
Trifles deals with the concept of family and family relationships as it deals with the relationship between a husband and wife. Trifles ultimately reveals the commonly held idea of how a wife was expected to behave in America in 1916. Mrs. Wright was expected to be a homemaker, completing such tasks as quilting, cleaning, cooking, etc. Trifles also brings up an interesting perspective on a woman's duty to bear children. The women were sympathetic toward Mrs. Wright because she had no children. It was assumed that because Mr. Wright was often out of the house working, Mrs. Wright was lonely without children of her own to take care of and keep company. Families in rural America during the early 20th century were traditionally defined as a man, his submissive wife, and their children. However, Mrs. Wright's unconventional decision to remain childless was viewed as just another "queer" quality about her. In addition, family in this part of the country in 1916 was often associated with an individual's place in their community. Small towns and communities in rural America often considered all of the citizens to be a redefined "family." Mrs. Wright's choice to abstain from joining the Ladies Aid and her disinterest in participating in a party telephone are more examples of her refusal to submit to the traditionally defined "family" of her time. Lastly, a woman in 1916 was expected to aspire to marriage and take her husband's surname. Mrs. Hale however frequently refers to Mrs. Wright, not as Minne Wright, but as Minnie Foster. By acknowledging Mrs. Wright's maiden name and consciously not referring to her as Minne Wright, is yet another example of how different Mrs. Wright acted pre and post marriage, redefining the role of a woman in the traditional 20th-century family.